Sasikala set to be Tamil Nadu Chief Minister tomorrow: What lies ahead?
She may have almost all AIADMK leaders backing her, but Sasikala Natarajan will also have to win public support.
Chennai: From forever being under the shadow of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, to catapulting herself to the top post within 60 days of the latter’s demise, Sasikala Natarajan has scripted quite a story for herself. She may have the support of almost all AIADMK MLAs, but she will have to prove her popularity with the electorate too.
Sasikala is set to take oath as chief minister of the state on Tuesday. She needs to get elected to the Assembly within six months from the day she becomes the Chief Minister.
A by-election will have to be conducted, where the public will have to decide if they accept Sasikala as Jayalalithaa’s successor.
It is expected she will contest the R.K. Nagar seat that fell vacant following Jayalalithaa’s demise. Winning a by-election has been seldom difficult for a ruling party in Tamil Nadu.
The true test of Sasikala’s leadership and public acceptance would be the local body elections expected in a couple of months, when the main opposition DMK is certain to make her appointment as CM its main poll campaign issue.
An unwanted successor?
Sasikla seems to be an unwanted figure in the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s constituency of RK Nagar in Chennai.
Last month, many workers from AIADMK, mostly women, protested as lawmaker P Vetrivel appealed to Natarajan to fight from the seat Jayalalithaa represented.
Vetrieval was present at a silent rally in Chennai to mark 30 days of Jayalalithaa’s death. There, people organized protests against Sasikala.
"We only came for Amma. Tell Chinnamma (Sasikala) to not imagine we have come to vote for her," a senior citizen had said.
Sensing discontent, some senior AIADMK office bearers had suggested that Sasikala contest elections from Madurai.